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Facebook Stops Sponsored Ads in Search

Facebook has officially stopped allowing advertisers to pay for spots within user’s search results. But what does this mean for advertisers on Facebook? Read on to find out.

Previously, advertisers could periodically show up in search results. Seeing a sponsored movie or sponsored game wasn’t uncommon for Facebook users. But now, Facebook has pulled that service, and released this statement:

In keeping with the goal of streamlining our ad products, starting in July advertisers will no longer be able to buy sponsored results. We’ve seen that most marketers were buying sponsored results to advertise their apps and games, and we already offer mobile app install ads and Page post link ads on desktop to achieve these same goals.

The feature, which was originally developed before Graph Search, was nixed in order for Facebook to streamline its ad products. However, this doesn’t mean that advertisers have entirely lost a service. Facebook has said that it wants marketers to use mobile app install ads, as well as Page post link ads, as a sponsored result alternative since most of the searches were for mobile apps and games anyway.

The good news for advertisers is that this isn’t a permanent change. There will be ads in Graph Search once Facebook works out all the details. Ultimately, Facebook isn’t ditching the idea of search advertising altogether, it’s just waiting until Graph Search is up and running.